Significance of textile production the Argaric Culture (Spain)

Abstract

In recent decades, research on the Bronze Age in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula has focused mainly on analysis of the processes of hierarchy and social development. The valued archaeological indicators have been very diverse: from the ceramic and metallurgical specialization, to the normalization of funeral practices or the settlement pattern. However, only in recent years the importance of textile production in these processes has begun to be considered. With the present work we intend to evaluate the importance of this basic and fundamental craft, assessing the set of labor processes involved, the degree of specialization achieved, and the social value granted to textile products in the Bronze Age culture of El Argar.